CAMERA, LIGHTS, AWARDS - 2018 UK Picture Editors' Guild Awards

The British and Irish press gathered last night (Monday 25th March 2018) in London to salute the Shutterstock Press Photographer of the Year.

Over three hundred leading members of the industry attended a black-tie event at the Headquarters of Honourable Artillery Company in City Road. Hundreds of photographers submitted over four thousand images, which were judged by a panel of ten experienced judges.

Donna Granato, the General Manager of Editorial and Head of Content Acquisition for Shutterstock, travelled from New York to attend. The opening speech was made by Mark Getty, Chairman of the Board of Getty Images.

Helen Healy, Head of Pictures at the Financial Times and chair of the judges, said: “There was a very strong set of entries for this year’s Picture Editors Guild Awards. I was particularly impressed with the Photo Essay category.

“The photos covered a huge range of news stories from 2018, from big events such as the migrant crisis, Brexit and climate change to essays about Irish dancing and World War II veterans. It was very difficult to narrow down my top favorites.

“The Canon Sports Photographer of the year was another excellent field with difficult choices to be made, as was the Fixation News Photographer of the year where many of the key moments from last year in news were captured.”

Derek Momodu of the Daily Mirror said: “Throughout the judging process, I looked for aestheticism, relevance and, more importantly, originality.

“There has been a wealth of talent in this year’s competition. Congratulations to all the winners. Every entry, professional or otherwise, is commendable.”

Alan Sparrow, Chair of the UK Picture Editors Guild Awards, commented that the striking thing about this year is that it seems to be the year of the freelance photographer.

“The UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards are the only one of their kind to recognise and honour the talented professionals behind the lens, operating in the most dynamic and competitive media in the world.”

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The 2018 Picture Editor Guild Award categories were:

Bloomberg Business Photographer of the Year

Dave Benett Photos Arts and Entertainment Photographer of the Year

Getty Images Young Photographer Bursary

Iconic Images Royal Photographer of the Year

Genesis Imaging Regional Photographer of the Year

Canon Sports Photographer of the Year

Videojournalist of the Year

Fixation News Photographer of the Year

Photo Essay of the Year

Fleet Street’s Finest National Newspaper Photographer of the Year

Fujifilm Student Photographer of the Year

And from these categories we find the Shutterstock Press Photographer of the Year.

Chairman's Award for lifetime achievement

The Award is given by the UK Picture Editors Guild to someone who has made a contribution to our industry that makes them stand out in a crowd of very talented people.

Tom Stoddart

2018

Now established as one of the world most respected Tom Stoddart began his photographic career on a local newspaper in his native North East of England.